Stanford admits 748 early applicants

Stanford announced Friday it has sent acceptance letters to 748 high school students who sought entry under the university's early admission program.

The students were selected from 6,948 early admission candidates, the largest such pool in Stanford history.

"We have admitted an exceptional group of students from a tremendously talented pool of applicants," Richard H. Shaw, dean of undergraduate admission and financial aid, said in a statement.

The students who received acceptance letters come from 48 states and 36 countries, Shaw said. More than 76 percent of them have a high school grade point average of 4.0 or above.

Stanford informed all early applicants of its decision -- admitted, denied or deferred to the regular decision round -- by email Friday.

The university said it plans to reserve the majority of spaces in its freshman class for students who apply for admission under its regular decision program. More than 30,000 students are expected to apply by Jan. 1. Students admitted under either program have until May 1 to accept.